Polestars >Blog >Muddling, Blindfolds and a Polestars Collins; the team goes Cocktail Making

Muddling, Blindfolds and a Polestars Collins; the team goes Cocktail Making

Posted by Hay Brunsdon on June 8 2017.

Last week some of the Polestars crew were treated to a fantastic night of Cocktail Making. Many of our guests enjoy a spot of mixology most weekends so we headed down to Be At One to meet the staff and sample a few Cosmopolitans (for research purposes, of course.)

We were greeted with a cocktail from their special hen party menu and even though the barmen had an extensive knowledge; they’d memorised over 200 different recipes, we cheekily challenged them to broaden their horizons and make an Elderflower Mojito. Though not actually on the menu they accommodated our requests, which was a great start to a truly bespoke evening.

Team night out!

Emily, our Events Manager played the part of the hen and naturally went straight behind the bar to make a Mojito. Three barmen instructed her how to muddle mint, add the correct proportions before garnishing her fresh creation. The head mixologist was full of banter, cocktail history and intriguing anecdotes – well at home at a hen party.

Our next challenge involved team work – a perfect game for a work night out as well as bonding with strangers at a hen party. Two of us had to put our arms around each other and measure, pour and shake our crazily-proportioned drinks one-handedly. Lots of alcohol spillage and hilarity ensued.

The barman looks sceptical

Laura, who happens to be Polestars’ in-house cocktail specialist then stepped up to the plate to race Emily in crafting the perfect Cosmopolitan, complete with a party trick involving setting fire to a lemon rind – yikes! The girls were neck and neck until an unfortunate mishap involving a cocktail mixer and a handful of crushed ice which propelled Emily into the lead.

Blurry pictures are a sign of a great night

Before long I found myself back behind the bar and promptly blindfolded before latching myself onto Emily to create a Long Island Iced Tea. I scrambled about groping various spirits, glass wear and barmen before presenting an overly alcoholic beverage to our judge – who absolutely loved it, might I add.

Blind man’s Bicardi

Curse my weirdly short arms

For our last trick we broke away from the barmen to plan a cocktail of our own creation (our only instruction was that it had to include two spirits.) Naturally I wanted to experiment with ice cream, amaretto and various syrups but I was overruled in favour of some baffling lychee creation. We then had to present it as the TV personality of our choice – so obviously we starting F’ing and Blinding and throwing ice around a la Gordan Ramsay.

Our barman and his mint muddler ‘batteries not included.’

All in all we had a great night out full of challenges, chaos and Caipirinha in equal measure; an evening perfect for stag, hen or corporate celebrations alike.

And yes I had to buy the entire office bacon sandwiches as a forfeit for arriving 3 hours late into work the next day – worth it though!